1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable radio called receiver comprising a display and a tone generating circuit, and a communication apparatus sending display data for informing the presence of a message.
2. Description of the Background Art
Recently, portable radio called receivers comprising a display and a tone generating circuit have been developed and put into practical use. Such receiver is often referred to as "a pocket bell" and a display thereof is often implemented with a liquid crystal display panel. In this specification, such a portable radio called receiver is also referred to as "a pocket bell" for simplicity. An automatic answering telephone equipment has also been developed for sending display data informing the presence of a message to a pocket bell. Furthermore, a communication apparatus has been developed in which an automatic answering telephone equipment and a facsimile device are integrated. Such a communication apparatus comprises a memory storing the calling number of the pocket bell and the display data to be displayed in the pocket bell. The function of the automatic answering telephone equipment is set after the calling number of the pocket bell and one kind of display data are stored in the memory. This allows for the automatic reception of the communication from the caller. When the communication from the caller is a voice signal, the voice of the caller is recorded, whereas image data is recorded if a facsimile signal is received.
The function of the automatic answering telephone equipment will be explained in further detail.
When the caller hangs up the line to end the communication, the communication apparatus will read out the telephone number of the pocket bell registered previously in the memory to carry out the calling operation, followed by the transmission of the display data. The pocket bell is responsive to the call from the communication apparatus to generate a predetermined tone. This generated tone notifies the carrier of the pocket bell that the pocket bell has been called. The pocket bell displays the display message on the display. Thus, the carrier of the pocket bell will be informed that the communication apparatus has received a communication from a caller. The carrier of the pocket bell may telephone the communication apparatus from a nearby telephone and enter an identification number to request the transfer of the message signal, for example. The communication apparatus is responsive to the entry of the identification number to send the recorded message of the caller. Thus, the carrier of the pocket bell can acquire the message of the caller.
The above mentioned communication apparatus transmits one kind of display data registered in advance upon receiving a communication from a caller, irrespective of whether it is a voice signal or a facsimile signal. There was an inconvenience that the carrier of the pocket bell could not identify whether the communication is a voice communication or a facsimile communication.
Furthermore, in the case where the caller records a message in the communication apparatus requesting the carrier of the pocket bell to call by telephone, the carrier of the pocket bell had to perform the following operations. That is to say, the carrier of the pocket bell must first telephone the communication apparatus to listen to the message of the caller and hang up the telephone. Then, he/she must telephone the caller. This means that there is some period of time since the calling of the communication apparatus till the carrier of the pocket bell actually calls the caller. This is time consuming and laborious.